Sailing yacht charter in the British Virgin Islands has defined Caribbean cruising for generations of charter guests. The trade winds blow steadily from the east at 15 to 20 knots for most of the season, the Sir Francis Drake Channel provides a protected deep-water highway between islands, and the distances between anchorages are short enough to allow two stops in a single day when the wind and mood allow. The BVI sailing fleet numbers around 19 crewed charter yachts, ranging from 18-metre performance sloops to 35-metre ocean-going ketches. The BVI has shaped charter sailing since the 1960s, when the first bareboat operations set up in Road Harbour at Tortola. Today the crewed charter fleet brings a level of seamanship and hospitality that the bareboat market cannot match, with crews who know every anchorage and can read the local weather patterns to place guests in the right position at the right time of day. Weekly rates for crewed sailing yachts in the BVI start from around 25,000 euros, with the largest and finest examples reaching 120,000 euros per week. An advance provisioning allowance of approximately 30 percent covers food, fuel, berthing, and crew gratuity. High season runs from December through April. Sailing yachts tend to be available into May and from November, offering better pricing in the shoulder periods. The BVI sailing circuit typically opens with a reach across the Sir Francis Drake Channel from Tortola to Norman Island, where the caves at The Bight are best explored by snorkel in the morning calm. The following day, a beat to windward brings the yacht to the Baths on Virgin Gorda, where granite boulders and clear shallow water are best enjoyed before the day-trip boats arrive. North Sound, Saba Rock, and the passage north to Anegada follow before the circuit returns west via Jost Van Dyke, where White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar provide a memorable final anchorage before the return to Road Harbour.
